Quibi stands for 'quick bites' and offers slickly produced movies in chunks of 10 minutes or shorter

Quibi CEO and former HP CEO Meg Whitman on the new platform, which creates short, mobile-friendly content and how coronavirus has impacted its rollout.

Mobile-only streaming service Quibi racked up more than 300,000 downloads on its launch day, industry site Sensor Tower said on Tuesday, as stay-at-home viewers lapped up its short films starring Hollywood A-listers.

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The service is founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former chief of Walt Disney Co’s movie studio and Dreamworks Animation, and headed by former eBay Inc and Hewlett Packard Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman.

Quibi, rolled out on Monday, stands for “quick bites” and offers slickly produced movies, such as “Hunger Games” actor Liam Hemsworth’s thriller “Most Dangerous Game”, in chunks of 10 minutes or shorter.

The service, currently available only in the United States and Canada, will also deliver reality shows and news. Basketball superstar LeBron James appears in a documentary about his Ohio school for at-risk youth.

Quibi offers a 90-day free trial and will cost $5 a month with ads, or $8 a month without them, after that period.